要碳價及氣候立法 美75大企業訪國會山莊 十年首見

Representatives of some of the largest U.S.-based corporations are asking Congress to pass meaningful climate legislation, including a price on carbon.

Today, executives from more than 75 businesses, including: BP, eBay, Capital One, Exelon, Gap, Levi Strauss, Nike, Mars Inc., Microsoft, PepsiCo, Shell, Symantic and Tesla, met with a bipartisan group of federal lawmakers in the largest business gathering on Capitol Hill to advocate for climate legislation in over a decade.

Gathering under the name of Lawmaker Education & Advocacy Day, or LEAD, the participating businesses include 21 Fortune 500 companies as well as trade associations, medium and small businesses from all 50 states, collectively representing combined annual revenues of more than $2.5 trillion and more than one million U.S. employees.

The businesses calling for a meaningful national carbon price span across the American economy, including retail giants, manufacturers, oil majors, healthcare services, food and beverage companies, outdoors industries, technology companies and energy providers. A full list of business participants is online here.

Representatives from these businesses are meeting one-on-one with lawmakers and congressional staff from both sides of the aisle in the House and the Senate to educate them on the economic impacts of climate change and the need for comprehensive and effective national climate policies.

A growing number of bipartisan lawmakers are offering their own carbon pricing proposals. In the last three years, Democrats and Republicans collaborated to introduce several different carbon pricing bills in both the Senate and the House, including the Market Choice Act and the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, but these bills were not passed into law.

“Investors are increasingly aware of the dangers of climate change and its impact on companies and our portfolios,” said Tim Smith, director of environmental, social and governance, or ESG, shareowner engagement at Walden Asset Management. “Companies and investors working together have a central role in implementing climate solutions. A price on carbon would create the market signals needed to drive clean energy investments, grow the job market and strengthen the American economy. It is a critical tool in U.S. efforts to address climate change.”

Naturally, companies involved in the snow sports industry are well represented.

Matthew Hamilton, sustainability director at Aspen Skiing Company, said, “Climate change poses a direct threat to the outdoor recreation industry, both in our home state of Colorado and across the country. That is why Aspen Skiing Company is committed to delivering on our goal of reducing our carbon emissions 25 percent by 2020. A well-designed price on carbon is another critical tool in U.S. efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and tackle climate change while protecting the economy and the longevity of our industry.”

Francois Goulet, CEO of the French ski manufacturer Rossignol, said, “The ski industry is on the front lines of climate change, and our business is starting to feel the impacts of increasingly unpredictable seasons. As an industry that contributes $72 billion to the U.S. economy, and as a leading brand within this industry, Rossignol is committed to leveraging our influence to address climate change head-on.”

Not only are some Europe-based companies signing on, such as Rossignol and the Dutch company Unilever, but a distinct contrast between Canadian and U.S. carbon pricing attitudes is clearly illustrated by Arran Stephens, co-founder and co-CEO of Nature’s Path Organic Foods.

“At Nature’s Path, we see the impact of climate change to business,” Stephens said. “From droughts in North Dakota impacting our oats supply to severe weather in California impacting our ability to source organic raisins, rice and almonds domestically. It’s time for business and government to work together to implement policies to bring positive change to our planet, and I believe it begins with a national price on carbon.”